This measure is used to assess adult inpatients' perception of their hospital. Patients rate their hospital on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 is the worst hospital possible and 10 is the best hospital possible.

This measure is used to assess the percentage of respondents who reported how often ("Always," "Usually," "Sometimes," "Never," or "I never pressed the call button") the hospital staff was responsive to their needs.

This measure is used to assess the percentage of respondents who reported whether ("Definitely No," "Probably No," "Probably Yes," or "Definitely Yes") they were willing to recommend this hospital to their family and friends.

Several treatments have been proven to give the best results to most adults with pneumonia. This measure shows how often a hospital gave these treatments to its patients for this condition. All reported process measures were included in the composite.

Several treatments have been proven to give the best results to most adults with heart failure. This measure shows how often a hospital gave these treatments to its patients for this condition. All reported process measures were included in the composite.

Patients should choose a hospital that has implemented Leapfrog's policy on managing serious events (or "never" events), such as surgery on the wrong body part or death due to contaminated drugs or devices.

Patients should choose a hospital that uses computerized prescriber order entry (CPOE) systems to order medications, tests and procedures. CPOE systems are computer systems designed to alert doctors and other prescribers to potentially serious problems with their instructions.

Patients should choose a hospital with an intensive care unit (ICU) that is staffed by doctors and other caregivers who have special training in critical care medicine. These doctors are called "intensivists."